The Game
Each player is dealt 13 cards.
The Deck
This game is played with 2 standard 52 card decks plus 2 Jokers.
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The cards and their values |
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2 points |

3 points |

4 points |

5 points |

6 points |

7 points |

8 points |

9 points |

10 points |

10 points |

10 points |

10 points |

11 points |

25 points |
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(*) Joker may be used in any set or run to substitute for any missing
card or cards. When used in a meld to substitute for another card, the
Joker takes on the point value of the card it represents. It counts 25
penalty points when in the hand of a player at the end of play.
The remaining cards are placed face down on the table, forming the
stock pile (face down) and one card is placed next to the stock to
form the discard pile (face up).
A standard turn consists of three parts:
1. Drawing one card, either from the top of the stock pile or from the
top of the discard pile.
2. Forming new sets and runs and/or adding cards to existing melds if
possible.
3. Discarding one card from on top of the discard pile.
Drawing at the beginning of your turn and discarding in the end are
compulsory. Melding is optional, and cards that could have been melded
can be kept in your hand for a future opportunity.
If the stock runs out, the discard pile is shuffled and placed face
down to form a new stock. The card discarded by the player who drew
the last card of the old stock is placed face up beside the new stock
to start the new discard pile.
Building Rules & Instructions
After laying down the initial meld, a player may add cards from his
hand to any melds on the table - his own or other player's - forming a
large valid meld. This is called building.
Players may add the corresponding card of the fourth suit to a
three-card set (if it contains a
rummy Joker, no repeated suits are allowed),
or add further consecutive cards to either end of a run.
In builds, as in original melds, a Joker can be used as a substitute
for any card.
Reuse of Jokers
If a set of three cards contains a Joker, the Joker can be released in
exchange for equal ranking cards of both missing suits from the
player's hand. For example, if
 
has been melded, a player who has a
and a
can add both of these
cards to the set, taking the Joker in exchange and using it elsewhere.
By building just one of these 10's onto the set, player forms a closed
four-card set of 10-10-10-Joker, from which the Joker can never
be taken. A player can add any two of the missing suits to a
three-card set with two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and
forming a closed four-card set.
A player can add any two of the missing suits to a three-card set with
two Jokers, releasing one of the Jokers and forming a closed four-card
set.
If a run contains a Joker, a player who holds the card the Joker
represents can use it to replace the Joker, and reuse it elsewhere.
Except in the cases where a Joker can be reused as described above,
melds and runs once placed on the table can never be rearranged - they
can only be added to.
Going Out
The play ends when a player wins by drawing from the stock or discards
pile, melding all but one of their cards, and discarding their last
card. This is known as "Going Out".
Going Kalooki
When a player lays down all their cards in one move without
using any builders, this move is known as "Going Kalooki" the
remaining players at the table will have an extra 25 penalty points
added to their total card count.
Note that even when going out you must end your turn with a
discard - it is not permitted to draw, meld all of your cards and
discard nothing.
Note that there is no "laying off", as in some other
rummy
games. When a player calls up, the play ends immediately and the other
players have no opportunity to dispose of any cards they are holding,
even if they could have been melded or built onto other melds.
Scoring
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The winner always gets at least 75% of the prize pool, the other 25%
will be distributed to the rest of the players. These players'
percentage is calculated by the proportion of their point to the
winners' points, as long as they have less than 100 penalty points
remaining in their hand.
Prize Pool Distribution Example
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| Bob, Shelly, John and Barbara are
playing Gin online on a ring table
with a $10 stake. When the round is finished, Bob is the winner
and the following is a table showing the remaining cards for of
the losers:
| Place |
Player |
Cards |
Hand value |
Points |
| 1 |
Bob |
AS |
1 |
0 |
| 2 |
Shelly |
2H,3H,AD |
6 |
-5 |
| 3 |
John |
5C,5H,10C,AH |
21 |
-20 |
| 4 |
Barbara |
KC,KD,8H,8S,QD,JD,2S |
58 |
-57 |
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| The hand value is calculated as a sum of the cards value where:
Ace = 1
J,Q,K = 10
Numbers = face value
The points, since they are playing a Gin round that ended in a
knock, are calculated as:
Points = -Hand value + knocker hand value
After the points are calculated, the prize pool is distributed
according to the penalty points each player has.
For this table, the prize pool is $40 (4 players * $10 stake)
Prize pool distribution calculation steps:
Step 1 determine the prize to distribute
According to the number of
rummy players, a different distribution
percentage is used:
| Number of players |
Non Distribution percentage |
Distribution percentage |
| 2 |
50% |
50% |
| 3 |
62.5% |
37.5% |
| 4 |
66.66% |
33.34% |
The percentage values guarantee that the winner will always win
at least 75% of the pool prize.
In this example, since there are 4 players, the distribution
percentage is 33.34%, hence:
Distribution Prize = $40 * 33.34% =~ $13.34
Non-distribution Prize = $40 - $13.34 = $26.66
Step 2 calculate distribution points
For each player, the distribution points are calculated:
Distribution points = Max(Points In money Limit,0)
The in money limit is determined by the game type:
| Game |
In money limit |
| Gin |
-50 |
| Oklahoma |
-50 |
| Traditional Rummy |
-80 |
| Kalooki |
-100 |
In this example, since the game is Gin, the distribution points
can be calculated for the players:
| Place |
Player |
Points |
Distribution points |
| 1 |
Bob |
0 |
50 |
| 2 |
Shelly |
-5 |
45 |
| 3 |
John |
-20 |
30 |
| 4 |
Barbara |
-57 |
0* |
* Since -57-(-50)=-7, Barbara gets 0 distribution
points.
Step 3 Calculating a Money-Points ratio
A money-point ratio is used to transform the points into money.
It is calculated as:
Money-Points ratio = Distribute prize / total distribution
points
In this example:
Money-Points ratio = $13.34 / (50+45+30) = $13.34 / 125 =
$0.106688
Step 4 Calculating the prizes
The prizes are calculated by multiplying the money-points ratio
by the distribution points for each player. The winner also gets
the non-distribution prize.
| Place |
Player |
Distribution point |
Prize |
Prize percentage |
| 1 |
Bob |
50 |
$32.00 |
80% |
| 2 |
Shelly |
45 |
$4.80 |
12% |
| 3 |
John |
30 |
$3.20 |
8% |
| 4 |
Barbara |
0 |
0% |
0% |
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KALOOKI (KALUKI) STRATEGY TIPS
The following set of tips were composed to provide you with
guidelines to help you acquire a general perception of the game's
rummy strategy. We advise you bear these tips in mind and apply them
according to your discretion, considering the specific situation you
are confronted with. Please note the tips are ordered in an arbitrary
manner.
Deck - In Kalooki the deck consists of 2 full packs of cards,
plus 2 jokers for a total of 106 cards, in Kalooki you have the chance
to receive all the cards twice, even the jokers!
Drawing - Drawing the right cards when playing online
Kalooki rummy (Kaluki) is the number one skill to affect the outcome of the
game the most. When drawing a card at the beginning of the game, it is
advisable that you pick a card from the stock pile rather then the
discard pile. This way, your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponents will
find it difficult to keep track of the cards in your hand. Keeping
your hand a secret as long possible will be worth your while down the
road. In addition, since the cards on top of the discard pile are
cards that your online Kalooki (Kaluki) opponents do not need, when
drawing a card from the stock pile, you might be preventing them from
forming melds.
Discard Discard the right cards is not a matter to be
taken lightly also. When throwing away cards your first priority is to
get rid of cards that are of no use to you. Secondly, you want to
throw away cards that are of no use to your online Kalooki (Kaluki)
opponent. To do so, simply note which cards your opponents discard.
Pay Attention To - One of the keynotes in online Kalooki (Kaluki)
is constant vigilance. Be alert to the cards your online Kalooki (Kaluki)
opponents discard and pick. This gives you the benefit of knowing
which cards their hands consist of.
High\ Low Draws The Kalooki (Kaluki) rules require your
melds' total count reaches 51 or more before going down for the first
time. Therefore, you might want to form melds of high-valued cards so
you can reach 51.
Building You may want to pick up cards from the discard
pile that may be added to the melds on the table, and get rid of them
by building onto the melds on the table. Be careful not to throw
builders to your opponents.
Melding Try to draw and discard cards in a manner that
will provide you with a lot of opportunities to complete pairs into
melds. For example: the un-melded cards in your hand are
,
,
,
.
Discarding the
will
leave you with more opportunities to meld the rest of cards.
When melding a Joker, you want to use it in a run rather than a
set. Since it will be more difficult for your opponents to come up
with the relevant card and replace it.
Going Kalooki (Kaluki) The main advantage of Going
Kalooki is surprise! Not to mention the fact that your opponents will
be penalized with an extra 25 points. You need to pay close attention
to your opponents' moves, the cards they are drawing and discarding.
Make your decision to go for a Kalooki (Kaluki) based on the
information you can get during the first couple of turns.
Going down If all players have already laid down melds at
the "Meld Area", waiting for a Kalooki is too risky go down as soon
as you can.
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